Monsterful
An
obsolete word (origin 1810) that means “wonderful and extraordinary.” (From “27 Delightful Obsolete Words
We Really Need to Start Using Again”)
In about a week we’ll be leaving Arizona for our summer travels. This will be the
fifth year that we have been traveling around in our RV during the summer,
doing volunteer projects with MMAP (Mobile Missionary Assistance Program.) FIVE YEARS! Wow, the time has flown by
and I can’t believe we are setting out for the fifth season with MMAP.
When I
first began to consider what’s ahead for us this summer, there was a part of me
that thought, “This season may not be as monsterful as the last four.”
We have 12 MMAP projects “under our belt” (not as many as some of our MMAP
friends, but an average of four each summer.) That’s not too bad for only
traveling an average of five months each year. It has allowed us time to accomplish
twelve projects and also do a lot of sightseeing and exploring of the country. We’ve
always managed to find new places and new things to see in between projects and
while going out or coming back home from them. The majority of our travel has
been up and down the west coast, but we were fortunate to travel back east a
couple of years ago and combine our projects with a lot of exploration of
places we had never been before, from Georgia to Maine and back again.
This year
we will venture back up to Washington State for the third year in a row. We’re
scheduled to do our first project in June at Camp Berachah in the Seattle area.
It’s a location we have worked at several other times. We won’t know our July assignment for a few more days (until the May MMAP newsletter arrives)
but we requested to stay put at Berachah in July. However, MMAP HQ asks each
MMAP couple to put in for a second and third choice in case their first choice
has the maximum number of other MMAP couples assigned to it - or in the event
the project location cancels, either because there were not enough volunteers
to man the project or the camp has to cancel for one reason or another. Our
second choice for July is a project at a church in Eugene, Oregon. August’s
project location is an unknown at this time. We won’t know what is available
until the May newsletter is sent to us. Then we will make our three choices for
August and wait until June to know what that assignment might be. We do
anticipate it will be at some location in Washington or Oregon as well.
We’re leaving earlier than the June
assignment date because we committed to house-sit and granddaughter-sit for our
daughter and son-in-law in mid-May so they can go on an eight-day vacation to
Mexico. The 19 year old and 14 year old granddaughters are actually old enough
to take care of themselves; hence I think our primary duties will be more
dog-sitting then kid-sitting. (They have three dogs, and our granddaughters
will have their days full of school and work.)
After a bit of rethinking, I am
reconsidering my point of view that this summer will not be monsterful. Even though we’ll be working
in places we have been before, we love the Pacific Northwest. We thoroughly
enjoyed our past projects at Camp Berachah (the ministry and people there are
very special to us), and we always look forward to catching up with family and
old friends from the area. Add to that the challenge of taking care of four
dogs (their three plus our Zoe) and I can anticipate the potential for many monsterful events. Watch out world……here
come the “Grandparent Dog Whisperers.”
Life is not always smooth, but I think
the anticipation of exciting adventures just waiting for us around the corners
of our lives is what motivates us through the rough patches. Of course, there
are no guarantees, but you never know what thrilling things might be in store.
And notice, I didn’t say to “worry” about what’s in our future…..rather approach
the future (short-term and long-term) with pure anticipation of special
occurrences. I’ll keep you updated in our summer blog posts and let you know
exactly what our special occurrences turn out to be.
Besides anticipating where we’re
going, another thing that motivates me is to reflect back on where we’ve been.
I like to consider how we’ve been blessed in each good, bad or mundane event. I
made a list of some of the things we experienced this winter in Arizona. Some
of the items were truly mundane, others had a price tag attached (and I hate
spending money) while others were just plain wonderful and/or extraordinary. I’ve
included pictures with some of them.
OUR ARIZONA WINTER OF
2013/2014:
·
After arriving back home in October of 2013 and
getting unpacked and settled in, we went to Kingman, Arizona in November to
celebrate Thanksgiving with old friends, Sam & Mary Tozer. Besides feeding
us lots of great food, they took us out on an exciting quad ride and local mine
exploring in the desert. (Old and new friends are a real gift!)
·
In December, we flew back up to Washington for
Christmas. We love spending the holidays with our family – and the added perk
was being able to use our Southwest Airline points to purchase the
tickets….total cost: $10! What a bargain!! (We couldn’t ask for a better bunch
of kids and grandkids than the ones God has given us.)
 |
| Our Christmas present from the kids was a night out to see Oliver at Seattle's 5th Ave Theatre. |
In January Jim got a new hip. This was a REALLY
BIG event. He had suffered for over 10 years with hip pain. The surgery went
very smoothly. He only took a few Tylenol to control the pain and made a quick
recovery. He is now in great shape! (We attribute the rapid healing to a good
surgeon, a hardy and determined patient – but most of all because of the
numerous prayers from friends and family.)
 |
| Jim was up and walking in less than two hours after the surgery. AMAZING! |
· From January to April 15th, I worked
a second season at H&R Block. I truly appreciate the people I work with.
It’s a great office and a great group of folks. I won’t miss the work – but I
will miss the people. (Although this “work” stuff cuts into my “play” time
while in Arizona, I’m still very fortunate to be able to work this seasonal
position to help off-set our summer travel expenses.)
 |
| With Bob, my "partner in crime" manning an info table outside the office. He and I and our friends Teri and Ty (not pictured) were the Customer Service Professionals - that's a fancy name for receptionist. |
 |
| All season long we had this cardboard cut-out of the H&R Block guy. Guess I got carried away....isn't he cute! |
·
In April we took advantage of the "free second Tuesday" at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens to take in the Chihully glass exhibit. BEAUTIFUL......and did I mention, FREE!
·
We drove up to Sedona for a two-hour jeep ride
in April. Sedona is less than two hours from Sun City. The red rock canyons are so spectacular and this ride was so much fun!!
 |
| Here I am with our jeep driver and guide, Wild Bill |
·
I taught another weekly Bible study with the
ladies in my neighborhood. We studied everything from the meaning of grace to
what heaven will be like. (I think this is more of a blessing for me than for
the eight ladies that join me each week.)
 |
| This is one of the books I used when we studied Heaven. I highly recommend it. |
·
We worked some more on the front yard
landscaping. Jim has really enjoyed learning about desert plants….and another
perk – NO LAWN TO MOW!
 |
| One of the many flowering cacti Jim has planted. Who would have thought that a cactus could be so gorgeous! |
·
We had new dual pane windows installed when we
got back in October – the house is so much quieter and were saving on the power
bill. We got a new dishwasher – again a real bargain by watching the sale ads.
All of the appliances in the house were old and slowly wearing out, so we’re
doing replacements a little at a time as finances allow. We also finally moved
the laundry room from the garage into the house and Jim converted the old
laundry area to a work shop. (These are the “spending money” things that don’t
excite me – but the flip side is that each one has a “saving money” aspect
attached to it.)
 |
| I love my inside laundry room! |
 |
| I'm starting a "honey-do" list for my man. |
·
Last, but not least we got a newer car! The old
one was pushing 15 years, had over 135,000 miles and was starting to make
“funny” noises. We were indeed blessed to find a very decent 2013 Kia Sedona
with only 8500 miles on it. (Again - I wasn’t “thrilled” to take on a car
payment. We haven’t had one for years - but we found the car via the internet
at a local dealership and were amazed at the great deal we got – including a
very fair trade in on the old car.)
 |
| This is my new "baby" with my old "baby". |
·
We also continued to enjoy our Sunday school
class (we have a fantastic teacher) and our church services are the absolute
best! We attended many church and community events. We have a solid group of
friends to do things with - like the free Sunday concerts at the Sun Bowl in
Sun City; Monday half-priced pizza; and Jim’s weekly outing to play pool with
the guys (a freebie at one of the eight recreation centers here in Sun City.)
 |
| These free Sunday evening concerts attract thousands of Sun City folks. One of the March concerts was a tribute to the Eagles that drew a record crowd of 7,000. (Oh...and did I mention...it's FREE!) |
 |
| This concert featured the US Air Force Band of the Golden West - stationed out of Travis AF Base in California. It's a jazz band and the only active duty Air Force Band west of the Rockies. |
Yes,
indeed – my rethinking has shown me that it truly was another wonderful winter season in Arizona! And, I’m anticipating
that this summer will be just as monsterful!
I’m praying yours will be too.
